15 Years of Augmented Human(s) Research: Where Do We Stand?

TL;DR

This paper analyzes 15 years of Augmented Human research, revealing publication trends, key topics, and community dynamics through scientometric methods, highlighting evolving focus areas and geographic participation.

Contribution

It provides a comprehensive scientometric overview of the Augmented Human conference series, clarifying research themes, publication patterns, and community engagement over time.

Findings

Publication peaks in 2015 and 2025 with periods of stagnation.

Key topics include Haptics, Wearable Sensing, Vision, Embodied Interaction, and Sports.

Seminal papers are often published outside the AH conference, e.g., at CHI.

Abstract

The Augmented Human vision broadly seeks to improve or expand baseline human functioning through the restoration or extension of physical, intellectual, and social capabilities. However, given the rapid pace of technology development, we ask: what exactly does Augmented Human research involve, what are its core themes, and how has the Augmented Human(s) conference series evolved over time? To answer this, we conducted a scientometric analysis on the past 15 years of the Augmented Human(s) conference (N=735 paper), focusing on: geographical aspects, submissions and citation timelines, author frequency and popularity, and topic modeling. We find that: (a) Number of papers in the conference exhibit a bimodal distribution, peaking in 2015 and 2025, but showing periods of stagnant growth; (b) key topics over time include Haptics, Wearable Sensing, Vision & Eye Tracking, Embodied Interaction, and Sports / Motion; (c) some seminal papers on AH are not published in AH(s), but rather at related venues (e.g., CHI); (d) the conference has an active Japanese HCI community despite its historical Eurocentric location dominance. We contribute a closer look at the trajectory of the AH(s) field, and raise considerations of definitional and research scope ambiguities given the core problems/enhancements the field seeks to address.